Well, what a surprise!
I am delighted to say that I have added a new butterfly to my 'lifer list', this female Queen of Spain Fritillary. Our sighting has been confirmed by local Butterfly Conservation recorders at a time when one or two of these magnificent insects have reached our shores, almost certainly due to the strong winds.
These butterflies have very distinctive pearl-like patches (specula and lunettes) on the underside of their wings, as you can make out in David's photographs below.
This website gives a helpful indication of the butterfly's rare status here in England.
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| Photo credit: David Gill |
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| Photo credit: David Gill |
We stood transfixed and mesmerised as the butterfly rested, fluttered, moved from a Buddleia to (what I think is) a Brachyglottis, crossed paths with a Red Admiral and disappeared.
This butterfly, named by Linnaeus in 1758, belongs to the family of Nymphalidae (which includes Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Purple Emperor and quite a number of other species), commonly referred to as brush-footed butterflies due to vestigial forelegs that cannot be used for walking, unlike the mid- and hind-legs.
The name 'fritillary' comes, it seems, from the Greek word φιμός, via a Latin word (fritillus). It seems to be associated with the familiar chequered design of a chess or draughts board. You will recall the square patterns on the purple petals of the spring flower, Snakeshead Fritillary. You can find more about the name here.
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| showing the curled proboscis ... |
At some point I should post photos of all the species I have seen in the UK, but here's a list for now ...
- Brimstone
- Brown Argus
- Clouded Yellow
- Comma
- Common Blue
- Essex Skipper
- Gatekeeper
- Grayling
- Green Hairstreak
- Green-veined White
- Holly Blue
- Large Skipper
- Large White
- Marbled White
- Meadow Brown
- Northern Brown Argus
- Orange-tip
- Painted Lady
- Peacock
- Pearl-bordered Fritillary
- Purple Emperor
- Purple Hairstreak
- Queen of Spain Fritillary (migrant)
- Red Admiral
- Ringlet
- Silver-studded Blue
- Silver-washed Fritillary
- Small Copper
- Small Heath
- Small Skipper
- Small Tortoiseshell
- Small White
- Speckled Wood
- Swallowtail
- Wall
- White Admiral
- White-letter Hairstreak
